Black Bean and Cheese Enchiladas

My husband and I had an impromptu dinner date on Monday night. It’s a long story that I won’t bore you with but let’s just say that we found ourselves running a last minute errand that took quite a long time, and that during it we ended up super hungry. We hit up a Mexican restaurant that we’d previously ordered take-out food from. The food was so-so the first time, but you can’t really judge a restaurant solely on its take-out food (unless it’s specifically a take-out joint). The dinner at the place was tasty but it really didn’t wow us.

It’s actually been a while since a restaurant has wowed me. Please tell me that’s not because I’m getting older and more picky! My husband’s theory is that my awesome cooking is superior to restaurant meals. Yes, let’s go with that. 🙂 I’d rather have these homemade vegetarian enchiladas than the ones from the other night because they are way tastier (and cheaper).

These enchiladas are filled with black beans and cheese, smothered in a ranchero sauce and topped with more cheese.

In a saucepan over high heat, combine the chilies and water. Bring it to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. The goal here is to soften the skins of the chilies.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and let it stand for about 5 minutes.

Drain the chilies and reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

In a medium pan, over Medium heat, heat the oil.

Add the chopped onion and cook until tender.

Stir in the minced garlic and salt and cook for another 1 minute.

Add in the vegetable broth, parsley, tomato paste and cumin. Stir all of the ingredients together and cook until the mixture has thickened. (About 10 minutes.)

Pour the onion mixture, chilies, the 1 cup of reserved liquid, lime juice, and red pepper flakes into a food processor and blend until smooth.

Directions for the Black Bean and Cheese Enchiladas:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Grease a 13 x 9 inch baking dish and set it aside.

In a large bowl, combine the black beans, 1 cup of the shredded cheese, and half of the green onions.

Spread 1/2 cup of ranchero sauce in the bottom of the prepared baking dish.

In a medium pan, over Medium heat, heat 1 corn tortilla at a time for 10 seconds on each side.

Place the warm corn tortilla onto your work surface and spoon about 3 tablespoons of the bean mixture into the center of it. (Note that it’s best to work with a warm tortilla so that it does not tear when you roll it.)

Roll up the corn tortilla and place it seam side down into the baking dish.

Repeat steps 5 through 7 for the rest of the enchiladas.

Pour the remaining ranchero sauce over the filled tortillas.

Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

Bake it in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until the cheese has melted and is lightly browned.

Have you ever cooked with dried chilies before? This was my first time and it is pretty cool how they come back to life with just some boiling water. Seriously, they are photographic gold, just look at that amazing texture.

I’ve made enchiladas before using canned sauces, which have come out superbly. However, this time I felt like going the extra mile and making the sauce. Ranchero sauce is a tomato based sauce with chilies, onions, and seasonings. This ranchero sauce is slightly spicy. If you want to kick it up a notch, simply add more chilies and/or crushed red pepper. If you are feeling brave you can also use cayenne pepper to add heat. Crushed red pepper is most commonly used in Italian dishes, but it’s a great way to add heat to any cuisine. If you’re like my husband, who likes it very spicy, you can also add some Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce as another delicious way to tantalize your tongue with toasty-ness.

The corn tortillas will soak up all this yummy ranchero sauce giving you moist and tasty enchiladas.

This recipe involves multiple steps but they are all pretty easy.

There’s some serious cheese going on inside and out of these bad boys. I’m loving that. The Mexican blend cheeses are made up of a combination of Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Queso Quesadilla, and Asadero cheeses. This combo is super tasty and perfect for any Mexican meal. (That’s probably why it’s called a Mexican blend cheese mix. 😉 )

My husband loves black beans and they’re the quintessential bean in Mexican cuisine. They are a fantastic way to make enchiladas a vegetarian delight.

These enchiladas are just as delicious as the restaurant version but for the price of theirs you can have about 400 of these.

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Comments

Oh I adore those dried chillies… or jalapeños. They are the best, I found a site that would ship the smoked variety to Australia, but they went broke so I have struggled to source a new company. Anyways, big fan of enchiladas, especially the meat variety, I just can’t get into black beans. 🙁 Great that you can make around 400 at home v the price of 1 in the restaurant, guessing you won’t bother going back?!

Omg stoppppp it’s 11:30 in the morning and I want to gobble down that entire tray… right now! I have such a weakness for Mexican food, and enchiladas in particular. I’ve never tried to make them before but I trust your husband’s judgement… yours are probably far superior (and wallet-friendly) than any restaurant’s 🙂

I’m the same way. I have to be really wowed by a restaurant these days and very few actually do. I like to eat out at places where I know I couldn’t cook the food just as well at home. That usually means sushi or some fancy french food or something hehe

I also find myself being unimpressed by certain restaurants food-wise – since I moved to Belgium I have been unable to find a single good Mexican joint! Meaning there has been a lot more Mexican cooking at home 😉 !

I am so impressed by this simple yet delicious looking recipe as well as the dried chilis (need to keep my eye open for some!). I can’t wait to try your spin on Enchiladas (yummy!!)! Pinned for later!

I have my sights on your recipe for ranchero sauce. My boys go through so much hot and spicy food that it would be a good idea to make my own sauce. I know that your cooking is great and that is why restaurants no longer wow you. Living here in HK we have many many restaurants and many don’t wow me unless it is the local food. I think the problem is when restaurants try to start up and it is not food of their local cuisine it can never be authentic. However, the Cantonese food here is of course the best you will ever have…Have a super weekend. BAM

Thank you for the lovely compliment! 🙂 I think you’re right about restaurants serving food ouside their local cuisine…I’ve never been to a Cantonese restaurant…sound amazing though! Have a lovely weekend Bam. 🙂

Naah I’m only 17 and super picky with restaurant food too. Let’s go with the idea that we are both such awesome chefs ok? 😉
Anyway, these enchiladas look mighty deliciosas, amiga. That cheese is calling my name <3